A huge explosion has ripped through a hotel in Cuba and left the building gutted amid reports it erupted due to gas works.
At least four people are dead and 19 are injured.
State media outlet Granma reported that the explosion took place while liquified gas was being moved from a truck.
The blast destroyed the luxury Hotel Saratoga in Havana as it blew walls out and reportedly left people trapped on the top floor.
The five-star hotel in Old Havana has 96 rooms but is believed to have been closed at the time of the blast. The building sits next to a school, however, and a short distance from the historic Capitolio building.
Flames and plumes of smoke were seen streaking out of the crumbling wreckage as rescuers desperately searched the rubble for survivors.
Wounded guests appeared to be getting treatment outside the hotel in makeshift trauma units as ambulances raced to the scene.
The explosion was so powerful buses and cars that were parked in front of the 90-year-old building were left crumpled or damaged.
Granma reported that a witness was crossing the street when he saw a gas truck supplying the hotel with liquid gas reserves explode.
Hotel Saratoga was built as a warehouse in 1880 and then converted into a hotel in 1933. It reopened in 2005 as a five-star hotel with 96 rooms, tree bars, two restaurants and swimming pool.
The hotel was remodeled by a British company after the fall of the Soviet Union and was considered the place to go for visiting government officials and celebrities’ for many years. Recently, it had lost some of its shine with the opening of new hotels in Havana, but was still a five-star venue.
A huge explosion has ripped through a hotel in Cuba and left the building gutted amid reports it erupted due to gas works
The blast destroyed the luxury Hotel Saratoga in Havana as it blew walls out and reportedly left people trapped on the top floor
Flames and plumes of smoke were seen streaking out of the crumbling wreckage as rescuers desperately searched the rubble for survivors
Police and rescue workers scour the scene on Friday afternoon as they searched for people still alive
Emergency services are pictured scraping back rubble as they hunt for those who survived the blast
Another view from the rear of the hotel shows the devastation that ripped into the neighboring building
Wounded guests appeared to be getting treatment outside the hotel in makeshift trauma units as ambulances raced to the scene
Source: Daily Mail